Israel "Eli" Guttman (or Gutman, ; born 24 February 1958) is an Israeli former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager who most recently managed

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

, before officially announcing his retirement from the football world, stating health issues as the main reason.

Career

Guttman was born in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, to a family of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

descent. He started playing football as a teenager in the youth ranks of

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club (, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli professional football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups (1962–63, 1965–66 and 1973–74, 2 ...

but never managed to play for the senior team. He moved to play for Beitar Netanya in

Liga Alef Liga Alef () is the third tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into two regional divisions, north and south. History League football began in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Howe ...

and later played in

Liga Bet Liga Bet () is the fourth tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into four regional divisions. History League football started in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. However, the financial ...

for Maccabi Neve Sha'anan and Maccabi Kiryat Bialik. After six years of playing in the lower divisions in Israeli football he retired from playing and the following season started to work as a manager. His first club as a manager was the club where he last played - Maccabi Kiryat Bialik. The next season, he moved to manage Beitar Haifa in Liga Alef. A year later he worked as the manager of Hapoel Tirat HaCarmel and in 1989–90 he managed Maccabi Tamra in

Liga Artzit Liga Artzit (, lit. ''Country League'') is the defunct third division of Israeli Football League, beneath its highest division Premier League and the second division Liga Leumit. Before being cancelled in 2009, it was run by the Israel Football A ...

, Tamra got relegated in the end of the season. In 1990 Guttman worked as the assistant manager of

. Guttman worked under Shlomo Scharf for two seasons, winning both the Israeli championship and the state cup in the 1990–91 season. In 1992 Guttman left Haifa to work as the manager of Tzafririm Holon, later on he managed

Maccabi Herzliya Maccabi Herzliya F.C. (, ''Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Herzliya'') is an Israeli football club based in Herzliya. The club is currently in Liga Leumit and plays at the Herzliya Municipal Stadium. History A football section of the Maccabi Herzliya ...

and Hapoel Beit She'an. He won his first Israeli title in 1997, winning the

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup (, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involves clubs of all standards ...

with

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club (, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli professional association football, football club from the city of Beersheba, Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The club was estab ...

. He coached

during the 1998–99 season, in which the club won their first

Liga Leumit The Israeli Liga Leumit (, HaLiga HaLeumit, ) is the second division of the professional Israeli association football (soccer) league system. This second-tier league is placed directly below the Israeli Premier League. Structure There are 16 ...

title. In 2001, he became coach of Hapoel Petah Tikva. In the 2001–02 season the team finished sixth; Gutman resigned in May immediately following the season's conclusion. He subsequently returned to Hapoel Be'er Sheva, and later spent two years coaching

Paralimni Paralimni () is a town within the Famagusta District of Cyprus, situated on the island's east coast. Since the Turkish invasion in 1974, it has increased in size and status, primarily due to the migration of refugees fleeing from the north. Ma ...

in Cyprus. At the start of the 2006–07 season he became coach of

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. () is an Israeli professional football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. After winning their first championship in 1971, the club's golden period last ...

, but was sacked in January 2007 following a dispute with team captain

Liran Strauber Liran Strauber (or Shtrauber, ; born 20 August 1974) is a former Israeli association footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At international level, Strauber was capped at under-17 and under-21, and played eight times for the senior Israel na ...

. From February 2007 until early December 2007 he coached

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...

before joining

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

as successor to

Guy Luzon Guy Igal Luzon (; born 7 August 1975) is an Israeli football manager and former player who manages the Israel national under-21 football team, Israel national under-21 team. Club career Guy Luzon was a graduate of the Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C., M ...

. He helped the team escape relegation, gradually building the team until they won the Israeli double –

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

championship and

– in 2010. The following season, he coached the team to its first-ever qualification to the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

group stage. In May 2011, after winning the 2011 Israeli State Cup, he left Hapoel Tel Aviv. On 27 December 2011, he was appointed manager of the Israeli national football team. On October 14, 2015 after the

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

qualifying campaign was highly unsuccessful, Guttman decided to leave his position as the manager of the national side.

Honours

Manager

*Israel State Cup: **1997, 2010, 2011 *Israeli Premier League: **1998–99, 2009–10

Managerial statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutman, Eli 1958 births Living people Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli football managers Beitar Jerusalem F.C. managers Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. managers Maccabi Netanya F.C. managers Enosis Neon Paralimni FC managers AEL Limassol managers Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Hapoel Haifa F.C. managers Maccabi Herzliya F.C. managers Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. managers Israel national football team managers Israeli expatriate football managers